David Joseph Jensen of Lander, Wyoming passed away on May 11, 2019.
Due to family being out of the Country his Funeral Service will take place at 10am, Friday, May 24, 2019 in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 626 Shoshone, Lander, Wyoming. Visitation will take place in the Relief Society room at 9am.
The earthly journey for our beloved family patriarch, David Joseph Jensen came to a close on May 11, 2019 when he returned to meet our Savior and hear Him say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant”
David Joseph Jensen was born on Mother’s Day, May 10, 1931 in Provo, Utah to James Christian Jensen and Della Taylor Williams Jensen. He attended school in Provo and in his early years helped tend the family truck farm and helped his father shoe horses for the U.S. Calvary. He worked for a time at a potato chip factory.
Growing up alongside the Provo river gave he and his friends ample time to live the life of Huckleberry Finn with their wooden rafts. He was active in Boy Scouts and made a trip down the Colorado river to the Grand Canyon. He was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of eight and throughout his life remained a faithful servant whatever his calling.
Upon graduation from high school he went to work for The Geneva Steel Co. (U.S. Steel). He and Ruby Brown were married in 1950 and 5 daughters were born of this union. During the occasional work stoppages due to strikes he would find employment in Nevada doing railroad work, or oilfields in Colorado, and roofing work for his brother-in-law Austin, any work to support his family.
In 1961 he transferred to the newly constructed, Atlantic City Iron Ore Mine, near Lander, Wyoming. There was a shortage of housing and he first found living quarters in a converted and remodeled chicken house on the north side of town. He shared it with the elderly landlord’s garden produce.
He moved his family to Lander and they settled in a newly constructed home in the Black Addition. Soon the family found themselves the owners of a laundromat on Lincoln St. called The Econo Wash.
David and Ruby were divorced and the laundromat was sold. In 1976 friends introduced Dave to Peggy Ashcraft Williams who was visiting in the area. They were married on Easter Sunday 1977 in the chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cape Girardeau, Mo. This added another daughter to the family, Judith Williams Crook and her family.
They found a really old house on South Third St. with a big yard and trees but it wasn’t long before the Iron Ore Mine closed in 1983. Dave having 34 years of employment with U.S. Steel retired. Not content with retirement at such a young age he found employment with Glenrock Coal Co. in Glenrock, Wyoming. Peggy followed him there but an employee layoff occurred and they returned to Lander where they opened Valley Dry Cleaners. After 2 successful years of operation employees were called back to Glenrock Coal Co. and the business was sold to an employee. Eventually another retirement came and they again returned to Lander anxious to begin their vegetable and flower gardening.
Unfortunately, this Jensen family was the inheritor of the Melanoma cancer gene. They are participants in a study at The Huntsman Cancer Hospital in Salt Lake City. This is where treatment was received, until Lander was blessed, with the creation of The Rocky Mountain Oncology Center, bringing first rate cancer treatment here.
The day came when the treatments could no longer stay ahead of the disease and when the cancer moved into his brain it was time to finish his valiant fight and say goodbye on May 11, 2019. Dave was again blessed with excellent and loving care from the Hospice Organization.
David was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Donna (Andy) Johnson, Edith (Austin) Chiles, Joy (Glenn) Pritchett; brothers, Weston Jensen, Mahlon (Delores) Jensen, James Bird Jensen, and Donald L. Williams.
Survivors include his wife, Peggy; sisters, Marian (John) Black, Sharon (Gary) Buckley; sister-in-law, Carol Williams; daughters, Randy (Richard) Mathey, Lonnie Burton, Diane Loader, Paula (Rod) Alred, Lisa (John) Bolog, Judith Parks; grandchildren, Danielle Mathey, Matsen Mathey, Rachael (Carl) Fisher, Shon (Courtney) Burton, Christy Loader, Kate Loader, Bryce (Emily) Loader, Paula Sylvester, Maggie Christie, Mary (Angel) Garza, Scotty Alred, Spencer Alred, Abby Alred, McKenzie (Jackson) Ellison, Maddie Maldanado, Megan (Matt) Paulsen, Amanda (Michael) Benevidez, Rori (Joel) Brantley, Christopher (Cody) Hubbard; great-grandchildren, Aurora, Ophelia, Kennedy, Coleman, Ellison, Sarah, Andrew, Zack, Maisun, Maddie, Saig, Olivia, Hannah, Lennon, Evelyn, Mila, Caleb, Jayven, Ailiah, Joslyn, Jacob, Hope, Anthony, Alec, Krista, Jaden, and Julia.
Dave’s family is so grateful for the years of care and devotion experienced from the Lander Family Medicine Team.
For more information, visit hudsonsfuneralhome.com.